HI Buzzeditor
My husband and I are going DR and booked the Gran Ventana Beach Resort in Playa Dorada. Initially we were going the Viva Wyndham Tangerine at Cabaret but realised some of the recent reviews were not good but further the beach is very windy as it caters for Kite Surfers.
I have had comments about the Gran Ventana and read reviews from recently on numerous sites and it comes out well.
It has a kids club and you can have 1 hour pp Kayaking a day, scuba lessons in the pool, Windsurfing, sailing, snorkelling and tennis.
Peruse over the Thomson and Portland brochures. You can view this hotel on the Thomson website for virtual tour of the hotel and the resort
Good luck
ps the customer ratings in the brochure are high especially the food, thinking that is important with taking your child.

It depends on whether you want to spend the whole 3k. There are some good hotels in the DR. We stayed at the Iberostar Hacienda Dominicus in Bayahibe, which had a diving centre attached, There was a kids club, the Caribbean beach was soft sand and the waves weren't dangerous. Pool had a large shallow bit for kids, entertainment was good compared to a lot of hotels I have been to, however there must be better if you want to spend the lot. The hotels on the other islands supposedly have better entertainment, better facilities etc. I am a bit miserly I am afraid and I would try and squeeze 2 good holidays! You also need luck so you can get the good deals at the right time. We got a good deal at the IHD, but this year when I looked everyone had heard of it and there were no spaces available for about 6 consecutive months.

Why dont you try Egypt,Red Sea, then you could have a fantastic hotel, snorkling with fantastic coral & fish, shorter flight time & you could possibly go twice for the same money!!!!